Michael Boyd, the 2015 and 2016 recipient of the PGA South Central Section Player Development Award and the section’s Player of the Year for 2014, 2015, and 2016, is the PGA Director of Instruction at The Club at Indian Springs, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Michael Boyd on the importance of displaying your knowledge to local golfers and prospective students through winter seminars:
Winter in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma doesn’t always lend itself to comfortable golfing conditions, as we get our share of cold temperatures and a few inches of snow as well. It is sometimes difficult to keep our members engaged during the off season, as less time is spent at the club, but for the occasional dinner, card game, or holiday party. In an effort to keep golf fresh in their minds, I have put together a short one-day seminar each of the past three years. Through various marketing efforts, including email to members, flyers to local businesses, and invitations to local high school and college golf teams, I have engaged interested individuals on such topics as mental performance training, how to practice properly, and even conducted a ball flight seminar. This annual one-hour seminar is conducted free of charge with the primary goal of getting local members and golfers thinking about and talking golf during a time of year when the various Oklahoma college football and hoops programs are the focus of most local sports fans. We set up a dining room at the club with multimedia equipment and provide printed information to attendees. Food & beverage earns revenues from a buffet that is available to guests before and after the seminar, as well drinks that are for sale during the event.
Michael Boyd on the business impact of displaying your knowledge to local golfers and prospective students through winter seminars:
Engaging members and local golfers during the off-season serves several purposes and has proven beneficial to my lesson business. With an average of 95 people attending each annual session during its first three years, I am demonstrating my knowledge as a PGA golf professional and a leader in the local golf community, along with fellow PGA professionals, high school and college golf coaches, and instructors. Out of these sessions, I have acquired 20 new students and kept many more engaged by conversing with them after the seminar, providing my business card, and following up in the spring to get them out to the club. Overall, my lesson business has doubled over the past two years, due in part to the winter seminars. Taking the time to organize these events, offering them for free, and showing off my knowledge of various golf topics add to the benefits I recognize throughout the year. Some ideas for future topics include fitness, short game, ball-striking, and developing attainable and measurable goals. As I put myself out there each winter, golfers in the community continue to offer stellar feedback and words of thanks in appreciation of my efforts.
If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email mboyd@indianspringsclub.com
